Striking flaws to Iron out

Ronan Hunt-Murphy has taken to watching Scunthorpe's strikers from between his fingers.

Scunthorpe ruing missed chances

Hard work means nothing. In an interview with This is Scunthorpe, Iron frontman Chris Dagnall admitted that he was tired of getting praised for all the hard work he's putting in on the pitch, saying he's finding it a bit repetitive. He should put himself in the shoes of his club's fans, whose moans and groans are becoming just as repetitive as he continually fails to find the scoresheet.

Before Tuesday's disappointing draw with Huddersfield, Daggers had gone seven games without scoring. And in that 2-2 game, he saw his penalty saved by Ian Bennett, a goal which would have helped change the club's fortunes. He did net late in the game, but Dagnall must be the most frustrating player in League One this season.

On Tuesday, Northern Irish midfield maestro Michael O'Connor also saw a penalty saved by Huddersfield keeper Alan Bennett, and Iron boss Alan Knill promised to practice penalties in training, and hope that a new spot kick taker would emerge.

Unfortunately, waiting for something to happen seems to be the theme of the 2011-12 season for Scunthorpe, with Knill's men being praised for their hard-work and their passing play. However, this all means nothing when you're looking up at the business end of the table.

speculated

Every weekend, we see our players line out and work hard, but the end product is still missing. It's never a good sign when your midfielders are scoring more often than your strikers, and that much speculated signing to improve the strikeforce never arrived.

The successes of Oliver Norwood, Shane Duffy, and Sam Johnstone has shown you can get great young players on loan, so it's frustrating that Knill hasn't sought to do the same up front, as that trio have been the major shining light of the season so far.

Scunthorpe host Tranmere Rovers on Saturday, where Dagnall will be hoping to find the net against his old club. Unfortunately, if he does, a lot of United fans will miss it, as we'll all be covering our faces with our hands in anticipation of yet another miss from the hard-working, goal-stricken striker. Hopefully he proves me wrong.